Wildcat
by LadyoftheBrook
Summary: What if Rogue wasn't the only stowaway Logan found? *OC and slight AU*
1. Chapter 1

Mutation

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"See you tomorrow, Brooke!" the teacher yelled out from across the street.

I pretended not to hear.

My feet dragged as I walked home from school. The sun had gone behind the large concrete apartment buildings an hour ago, leaving me to walk the twelve blocks home in the dark. The grey Toronto streets glowed ominously under the scattered streetlights. My blonde hair rippled in the cold mid-october wind, and i hiked my bag up higher on my shoulder as I skirted the dark alleyways. All I had to do was get home, then i could eat and go to sleep after such a long day. My teacher had held me back after school for a help session in english, and had only just let me out. My parents would be crazy with worry as my phone had died in second block and i hadn't called and informed them of the delay.

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Loud footsteps dragged me out of my thoughts. A large shadow slowly crept out of the alleyway I was about to pass, causing my heart to stutter. A gasp escaped from my lips causing the figure to look my way and start slithering further out under the street light. His voice stabbed through the silence like a knife. "why, hello there pretty girl. don't you know its late?" the delighted smirk on his dirt covered face was revealed as he pulled down the hood on his old jacket. I stepped back as he started towards me and tripped on the uneven sidewalk, landing on my back. His footsteps quickened a he got closer and my heart pounded inside my chest. I saw him stumble over and tried to cry out as he grabbed my shoulders roughly and dragged me up over to the brick wall of a closed store. his breath reeked of alcohol and his clothes were torn and bloodstained, and in the part of my mind that wasn't frozen in fear I realized the bloodstains were probably from other victims.

I tensed as he brought his face closer to mine, his cloudy brown eyes staring glassily at my blue tear-filled ones. "pathetic little baby doesn't have anyone to help her, does she?" he mocked as the tears spilt over. his grubby fingers poked at my face as he laughed at my fear. he leaned closer to my ear and whispered " no one can save you now you weakling. so stupid and useless." he laughed loudly and my ears rang.

Anger bubbled up inside me as he wheezed out another handful of intoxicated chuckles at my expence. how dare he think he could do this to me, or to anyone. my fists tightened as he pushed me harder into the wall, my shoulder blades grinding into the brick through my thin sweater. he brought one hand to his pocket and pulled out a switchblade, bringing it up to my face. it stung as he dragged the blade down my cheek, creating a cut that i was sure would scar. my anger sky rocketed as he smiled in glee at the crimson blood dripping off my chin. i wanted to kill him. i wanted to hurt him until he begged for mercy. i felt a part of my fear ebb and my muscles tightened under my skin, preparing for a fight.

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I felt my ears grow hot and suddenly everything was too loud. his breath, his heartbeat, and the sound of someone five streets over opening their apartment window. the mans breath hitched suddenly as he looked at the cut and he froze as his eyes met mine. He gasped out before taking a step back. I smiled as he gave me room to move. Shhhk. My hand met his shocked face, and he cried out. my eyes widened as four slim trails of blood slid down from his temple to his chin. I froze in shock as i looked at my hand.

Deadly claws protruded from each finger, glistening with his blood. a piercing scream rang out and it took me a minute to figure out it had been mine. "M-mu-mutant!" gasped out the man before he quickly ran away. I turned to look in the reflection of the store window. I whimpered as I took in pointed ears and how my blue eyes now had gold spiraling out from the pupil. Two small fangs peeked out of the corners of my mouth as i cried out in confusion. it couldn't be. I wasn't a mutant! My parents worked for part of the anti-mutant division, they would never let me back! Looking back at my reflection, I saw that the claws and fangs had shrank and that they looked normal again. All that was left were the eyes and the pointed ears. thinking quick I retrieved my bag from the gutter, and ran quickly and silently towards my house.

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* * *

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Silently unlocking the door and creeping up the stairs towards my bedroom, I surveyed the area. It was later than I had originally thought, so my parents must have gone to bed.

Quickly, I shoved a weeks worth of clothing and essentials in a black duffle bag, and left it on my bed. Running into the bathroom I wiped off the blood and dirt and changed into a purple tank top and my stretchiest grey skinny jeans.

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Looking once more into the mirror, my eyes blinked at the altered image. The gold in my eyes had lessened so that it just rimmed my pupils and my ears were unnoticeable behind my blond hair. I wondered if I could pull off staying here, wondered if no one would notice I was a freak. My hopes were dashed as a Loud knock on the door frightened me and made my heart race in fear, causing my fangs and claws to come out. Horror shot through me as my parents yelled at me from the other side of the wood door about how I was in so much trouble if I didn't come out right that second. I felt my eyes change and I realized there was no way my fantasy would every have worked.

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Anger ran through me and I reached for the door handle and unlocked it. I stepped out of the bathroom and stood in front of my parents, and smirked up at them, my fangs poking out from my lips. All I saw was their horrified faces before my mother screamed and I felt my father give me a well aimed right hook. It sent me flying into the door frame of my room, and I quickly scrambled in and grabbed my bags, slinging the duffle over my shoulder and holding my school bag as threateningly as possible. I didn't want to hurt the people who i had loved only moments ago, but my father was charging into my room and quickly cornering me up against the window seat. Morbid thoughts of why it took him so long to get into my room vanished as he pulled out a gun that had been given to him by the anti mutant division. It had been issued after one of the employees had been killed in a riot, and I knew he knew how to use it. my feet bumped against the loose latch to the large window as he took the safety off. I did the only thing i could think of.

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I kicked open the glass, and jumped from my third story bedroom window.


	2. Chapter 2

Laughlin city

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My eyes blinked open as the truck rolled to a stop. The large man who had picked me up outside the bus station gruffly told me we had reached our destination. After having gained a sprained ankle only three nights before, it was surprisingly painless to jump out of the large vehicle onto the snow covered ground.

"Laughlin city?" I asked the kind stranger as I pulled my blonde hair over my ears. He confirmed with a nod before walking away into the pub. I sighed. It was much colder here in Alberta than it had been in Toronto. A ghost of a smile flitted across my lips as I remember the shocked faces of my parents when they looked out the window at me as I crouched on the sidewalk, before I disappeared around the corner of the next street with only the quickly fading pain of my ankle to show for my miraculous escape from the house.

Cold seeped through my black leather jacket and I shivered while I followed a large crowd of burly truckers into the closest bar. The moment I stepped into the rustic atmosphere I froze, causing a girl wrapped in a black coat to bump into me. My nose, I had found out recently, had also been effected by my sudden change into a mutant. I could smell all the intoxicated men and all the cheap perfume the women wore, but more importantly, I could smell someone who was off, as in not totally human. My senses now alert, I cautiously began following the black covered girl as she walked towards the crowded area of the cage fights, where the scent was the strongest. My eyes widened as I peered around the other spectators to catch a glimpse of the brawl.

It was brutal. I had only witnessed the scuffles in the hallways at my high school, which did nothing to prepare me for this. Blood sprayed across the ground as the opponent fell, defeated. The announcer quickly stepped in and congratulate the winner that was currently hidden in a shadowed corner of the cage . "Would anyone else like to chance their luck on defeating the wolverine?" he boomed. Silence fell and I smirked at the ridiculous name. Shouts resounded through the room as a man swaggered down from his seat to try his luck.

The people around me shifted as the new enemy clambered into the cage and I could see the whole arena. The announcer whispered something into his ear as he got ready to fight. The bell dinged and the fight began. I stood captivated as the 'king of the cage' stalked out of the shadows, bare chested and ready to fight. He looked about two years older than me, and had a wicked smirk on his face.

My enhanced senses let me take in the fact that he was the source of the wild scent that had brought me to this dingy room. I felt my eyes change in the dim light, and was brought out of my analysis of the wolverine by a small gasp. I turned to see the black coated girl staring at me, or more specifically, my mutant eyes. I glared at her before turning and pushing my way closer to the brawl. My heart raced at the thought of her knowing what I was, but the thought was quickly lost as a body crashed up against the metal barrier in front of me. It was the wolverine, and as I looked at his form in surprise, I smiled. Not only was he smart, he was also quite obviously not completely human. Mutant. The bruises on his skin were almost non existent, and with my now enhanced eyes, I watched as the last of the yellow-green splotches faded into nothing. He probably wasn't even hurt at all, but just waiting for the perfect time to strike. My hypothesis was proven correct as his idiot opponent turned to the cheering crowd, his back towards the awaiting predator. My freshly unearthed instincts noted the way the wolverine crouched before attacking him, his arms swinging precisely to inflict minimum damage. He was holding back. And as my sensitive ears heard the faint pinging noise with every hit, I realized he was holding back a lot.

The man went down after four hits, and the crowd cheered and booed equally as people rained from the stands to receive what could only have been the results of their bets. My head began to pound as the noise level skyrocketed and my nose stung at the sour smell of accumulated B.O was released as everyone got up. I hastily made my way out of the over crowded room and slumped into a seat at the bar. The bartender looked at me questioningly and asked me what I would like. A small part of me rejoiced at not being asked for my I.D , which could have gotten me thrown out. After a quick once over of their unimpressive selection of drinks, I just smiled politely and asked for an iced tea. "Being a good little girl tonight, are we?" He smirked at me over his shoulder, and I scowled. If only I was taller than five foot one, I thought wistfully. My eighteenth birthday was seven months away, and I couldn't wait. I accepted my iced tea with a mumbled thank you and sipped it thought fully. The creak of the stool next to me made me freeze and I looked over to see that girl from the cage fight staring at me.

"Hello," she whispered " I'm Rogue." I stared at her scared pale face. she looked younger than I was, about fifteen years old. "Brooke." I replied. She sighed as she relaxed a bit and looked around the bar. I realized she had been waiting for someone to stick close to, as she was all alone in this loud pub. Suddenly I spun as the wild, woodsy scent of the wolverine hit my nose. He had just walked out of the room of cages and was coming towards us. I stiffened slightly as he looked at me and pulled out the stool one over from mine and ordered a drink.

The spectators of the match trickled out of the bar slowly, leaving the bar suddenly quiet and sparse. The man from the cage fight was sitting in a dark corner with one of his buddies, shooting menacing looks at the wolverine. I watched as he stood and slowly made his way over to us and tapped the wolverine on the shoulder. "hey, you owe me some money." he said angrily as the wolverine ignored him and sipped his drink. "No man takes a beating like that without a mark to show for it."

I snickered at his words. The bruise covered man looked over at me with a questioning look. "Whats so funny, bitch?" he asked me rudely. Rogue gasped quietly as she attempted to make herself disappear into her chair. " Well, actually, I don't think he was the one who took a beating, seeing as you seem to be the one with the marks." I explained quite seriously. The wolverine chuckled at the outraged look on the Idiots face. His whole head turning red in anger, the man hissed out, "I know what you are."

We all froze, shocked. The wolverine recovered first, and growled " you already lost your money, keep this up and you'll lose something else." The mans friend began pulling him back, but froze as he pulled a knife. Flash backs that night slammed through my brain and I froze in fear. The man turned towards me, the knife flashing under the dim light. " Not so brave now, are you?" He sneered as he grabbed me with his free hand and pulled me out of the chair and over to him. It was like a replay of that night with the homeless man, and I refused to let this happen again.

I twisted out of his hold and punched him in the stomach, and he doubled over in surprise. He quickly righted himself, and that's when I knew I was in trouble. I was an untrained seventeen year old girl, attempting to fight a full grown man a foot taller than her who was most likely quite experienced in fighting. He had a knife, and was drunk, which made my slim chances that much worse. His fist came back and whipped towards me, my quick reflexes the only thing that kept it from connecting with my face. My hands tensed as my claws grew, but I was too focused on not getting hit to use them. Seeing an opening I quickly brought my hand against his outstretched arm and dug in my nails. He screamed as they ripped through his flesh when he pulled back, and the blood coursing out distracted me as the knife was brought down into my shoulder.

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Umm, so this is where the slight AU comes in. In all the other fan fictions I have read with a Wolverine/OC pairing, they use the normal middle aged looking Wolverine, so I thought it might be cool to make the wolverine look closer to the OC's age. Of course he is still about two hundred years old or something, so it's just how old he _looks_ that changes.


	3. Chapter 3

stowaway.

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Pain flashed through me as the blade sunk its way into my shoulder, stabbing into the bone. I was pulled back towards the bar by the wolverine before he forced my attacker up against the wall, shiny silver claws exploding out from his knuckles almost slicing open the mans throat. My shoulder throbbed as blood trickled out around the knife and soaked into my jacket, making the the upper sleeve feel disgustingly warm and sticky against my skin. Rogue stared in horror as my shaky hand reached over to touch the protruding piece of metal. My teeth clenched and I decided not to touch it again as more blood spilled out, now running over the leather in dark red streaks. My eyes widened as the sound of a shotgun being readied shattered the horrified silence of the bar. "Get out of my bar, freak." The bartender had a gun pointed right at the wolverines head, almost touching his dark hair. The wolverine turned quick as lightning and used his free hand to slice the gun in half, the bullets clinking onto the ground. More painful silence as the everyone stood still, the wolverines chest rising and falling rapidly from anger and adrenaline.

Thunk. All eyes turned to me as the knife found its own way out of my arm and hit the floor. My shoulder felt like it was buzzing as the blood flow out of the wound quickly stopped, and I looked at the bloodied knife in wonder. It had been firmly imbedded in the bone only seconds ago, and now the wound seemed to have already stopped bleeding. My head twitched up and met the wolverines sharp calculating brown eyes as he looked at me. His claws slowly retracted and he shook his head before he stalked out of the bar. I got up quickly and grabbed Rogue and my bags , pulling her with me as I also made my way out of the non-mutant-friendly bar. I barely knew what I was doing as I pulled rogue towards a tarp covered trailer attached to the back of a camper that smelt heavily of my rescuer.

Rogue looked at me questioningly, but I just shrugged as my brain had run out of ideas of what to do now. I could hear the wolverine rustling around in the camper part of his truck and was sure he didn't know we were here. Looking around the parking lot I noticed that the horrible man had staggered out and was vomiting into a dirty pile of snow by the door. There was no other form of transportation in sight and I really didn't want to be anywhere near the man who had stabbed me. I sighed and looked over at rogue who seemed to have had the same idea as me and was now motioning me to climb under the tarp. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man wipe his mouth on his sleeve and start to stand up right. By the time he was gazing out at the dark parking lot with unfocused eyes, the wolverine had started his truck and driven away, with rogue and I hidden under the tarp.

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The cold seeped through the thin plastic sheet, making us shiver. Frequent peeks had let us know that we were now somewhere in the mountains, and that it was snowing. The blood soaked half of my jacket was frozen and stiff, and it made a crunching noise as I sat up and folded back the blue cover to look up at the grey sky. Large snowflakes landed in my gold hair as it whipped around in the wind. If I leaned over the side of the trailer I could see the wolverines face reflected in the side mirror, looking bored and puffing on a large cigar. My heart stopped as rogue suddenly leaned over the side with me, our combined weight causing the trailer to swerve, before I threw myself back onto the bottom, but the damage was already done.

Within seconds the truck lurched to a stop and rogue buried herself under the tarp, her form quite obvious. I sighed and sat leaning against the side of the box, waiting. He got out of the truck and crunched over the snow covered road towards us, stopping to stare at me as I stayed where I was. He cautiously walked forward and looked down to where my eyes had flickered in amusement. Rogues heavy breathing was causing the tarp to rise and fall and snowflakes melted as they landed on top of her hiding spot, making a large blue lump in the middle of the snow covered sheet of plastic. His hand reached down and tapped her impatiently, his face twisted up somewhere between suppressed mutual amusement and anger. Rogue slowly pulled back the tarp and sat up, her face horrified.

He lifted her bags out of the back threw them on the ground. She quickly got out and stood beside them on the road as he made his way over to me, stopping as I grabbed my own luggage and jumped nimbly from the box. He stared at me for a second before turning and walking back to his truck, beginning to drive away. Rogue yelled after him, but I waited patiently. He had saved me only yesterday night, and I doubted that after that he could just leave us out in the snow. I was proven right as his red brake lights flashed and he stopped and waited for us to get in.


	4. Chapter 4

Silence

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The silence was deafening as we drove through the mountains, the only sound the engine of the truck as it powered its way along the snow covered road. I sat sandwiched between the wolverine, who was driving, and Rogue, who seemed to not understand the concept of personal space. Her gloved hands clenched my arm nervously as she leaned into me for warmth, and her stomach growled loud enough for even a normal human to hear. She fidgeted for a bit before suddenly asking if the wolverine had any food in his truck. He tensed before reaching over to open up the glove box, and the wonderful smell of beef jerky filled the vehicle. She ripped open the package like her life depended on it, and I stared amusedly as she shoved most of it in her mouth, not bothering to share. The wolverine chuckled, drawing my attention away from the rapidly disappearing food. His eyes flickered to mine as I looked at him, taking in the medium length dark brown hair that winged up around his ears and the way his brown eyes darted from me to the road, nervous and impatient. "What." He asked, a slight scowl appearing on his face.

"I'm Brooke. And that's Rogue." I introduced, nodding towards Rogue as she scarfed down the last of the dehydrated meat. He hummed a response and looked at me for a moment before he replied. "Wolverine." I smirked at the name. "Really. Well, 'wolverine' is quite the stage name, but I was looking for something a little more official." Seeing the hesitant look on his face I added "Look, Rogue will go first." She looked at me incredulously for a moment before giving in and answering. "Marie. My real name is Marie." I turned back to him expectantly. " Logan." he grumbled, his eyes now looking at the road. Marie spoke suddenly, " where you in the army? Don't those mean you were in the army?" She pointed towards two dog tags that hung around his neck. How had I missed those before? Looking back I had been pretty preoccupied with his scent and hadn't really taken in what he was wearing when he came out to the bar. My study of the silver tags ended when he hid them under his shirt.

Uncomfortable silence filled the truck as we continued to drive to who knows where. I would have asked of our destination, but I was side tracked by Rogue as she peeled off her gloves and attempted to warm her hands. Logan flicked on the heater and reached over me to move her hands towards the vent. She jerked away and pressed herself up against the door, getting as far away from us as possible and quickly putting her gloves back on. Logan and I stared as she looked at us nervously. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt ya, kid." Grumbled Logan and I nodded my head in agreement. she looked at us for a second before she answered. "Nothing personal, it's just, whenever people touch my skin, something bad happens."

We contemplated this for a moment. "fair enough." I answered. Logan rubbed his knuckles in thought. Rogue once again asked a blunt question."Does it hurt? When they come out?" I glanced over at him, his hands flexing before he answered. "Every time." The awkward silence made me fidget. Rogue turned to me, and asked "what about you? What's up with your... Claws." She made her fingers into hooks as she asked, making me smile. "Well, I can't really Control them." I flexed my fingers to see if anything would happen. " actually, I can't really seem to control anything about my...mutation." Rogue looked at me before smiling. "fair enough."

We drove for ten more minutes before she started to talk again. " you know, you two should really be wearing your seat belts." She advised. I looked at her, as my seat didn't seem to have a seatbelt, and Logan just smirked. "Look kid, I don't need you to tell me how to-" The truck stopped dead as we hit something on the road, sending Logan and I crashing through the windshield. Glass cut into my cheek as I landed in the snow, and my body felt white hot with pain. A cracking made me look over, and I stared at Logan's mangled form as his bones moved back into position. He stood up carefully, his eyes searching the surroundings before locking with mine. He quickly came and kneeled down beside me, his eyes wide. "Hey, can you move?" I slowly lifted my arm, and a tingling went down my spine at the pain the movement caused. I froze as the tingling began to spread through my body, like pins and needles all over. My arm no longer hurt as I pushed my self up into a sitting position and looked myself over, ignoring the wolverine as he stared.

I was quite the alarming sight, with my skinny jeans ripped and puncture wounds up and down my arms from the glass. My jacket now totally shredded, I swiftly peeled it off, wincing as the dried blood from my stab wound pulled at my skin. My grey tank top was stained with blood and my bare arms revealed quickly freezing trails of red, but there were no open wounds. I faced Logan as he shifted towards me, his hand cautiously moving towards my face. I sat still as his fingers brushed my blonde hair off my face before gently tugging out a protruding piece of glass from my cheek. I looked at him, his brown eyes warm as we stared at each other. We both jumped as Rogues voice rang out from the truck. "Hey!" Logan stood, reaching his hand down to pull me up. I brushed my self off once I was standing and started towards Logan as he began to go to help Rogue out of the trashed vehicle. "Is everything okay?" I asked loudly. " I'm stuck." She replied dryly. Logan was just about to the truck when he stopped and looked around quickly. My nose twitched as it caught the scent of another mutant, and I silently stepped closer to the wolverine.

Bam! A large body tackled Logan to the ground and I instinctively leapt away from the fight, Surprised as I ended up landing on top of the camper. I gave myself a minute to wonder what just happened before sliding down the front of the truck, carefully avoiding the sharp shards of glass. Rogue screamed as the beast-man got Logan by the throat and threw him towards me as I crouched on the hood. I couldn't get out of the way quick enough as he landed on top of me, knocking the breath out of me, his weight pinning me to the Cold metal. My head banged against the truck, causing spots to dance before my eyes, and making my ears ring. I turned slowly to look at the attacker as he began to stalk towards us and stared unbelieving as he stopped and was suddenly blown away by a unnaturally well aimed gust of wind.

Logan's unconscious form was squashing my lungs, and my eyesight went blurry as I struggled to breath. My head spun as the dark shadow of a person appeared and lifted him off me, my heart hammering as I gulped down much needed oxygen. God, he was heavier than he looked! I attempted to sit up but my head spun and my eyesight began fading quickly. I was suddenly pulled off the truck and into someone's arms as a wave of heat blew out of the vehicle, the smell of smoke curling its way up my nose. When had the truck caught on fire? Rogues face flashed in my spinning mind, and I attempted to look for her, but my eyes and ears didn't seem to be working properly. The last thing I remember before my mind shut down was a flash of light, a loud whoosh, and a wave of heat that burned as it swept across my back.


	5. Chapter 5

Xavier

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My eyes slowly opened as the smell of antiseptic seared my nostrils, blocking out all the other scents. Sitting up, I found I was lying on a metal table with what seemed to be four heart monitor sensors stuck just below my collar bone and on either side of my rib cage. My tank top and skinny jeans had been removed, leaving me in my black bra and my skull covered neon pink boy shorts. Oh god. Looking away, I stared as I saw Logan lying on a similar table next to me. He was still unconscious, and had heart monitors stuck to him as well. His shirt had been removed and he was now wearing grey sweatpants, with his army tags glinting around his neck. Footsteps from outside the room fuelled my decision to lay back down and pretend to be asleep as I waited for someone to show up.

Where were we? Why were we here? Who had brought us? And why had they taken my clothes!? Thoughts of my parents anti mutant department and experimentation ran through my head as I lay still on the table, waiting as the footsteps got closer. My heart raced as I wondered what was going on. My recently formed feral instincts blocked almost all coherent thought as the overwhelming need to hide washed over was seeping through my body, and I felt trapped. My fingers flexed instinctively as I heard a code being put in on the other side of the door, and I gasped as my claws grew from the gesture. quickly repeating the action they disappeared, leaving me wondering how long my control over them would last.

I watched through barely open eyelids as a red headed woman appeared through a pair of metal doors, pushing a cart of medical supplies. She stopped the cart in between the wolverine and I, the two large shiny needles on the top catching my eye. She stepped back from the cart and I watched terrified as they floated up through the air and separated, one coming to me and one to Logan. My heart raced as mine stopped just at my arm, ready to prick my skin. The red head walked over to the wolverine, stopping to look him over, before flicking her wrist. There was a sting of pain in my arm before a loud noise made me jump, and the needle broke with the metal still inside my arm. Logan had suddenly jolted up and grabbed the woman in a choke hold, his shiny claws sticking out of his knuckles threateningly. His eyes were darting around the room, from the open doors to her quickly suffocating form, then stopping as he saw me standing by my table staring at him. He immediately dropped her and retracted his claws before he reached over to grab my arm, pulling me with him as he ran out the doors. I followed him willingly, a part of me knowing he would keep me safe.

We ran down a long hallway and stopped as it turned a corner. Logan looked down, taking in the stickers and his own broken needle that stuck out of his arm. He quickly ripped them all out and I did the same, my stomach turning as I pushed out the needle tip. The small puncture wound healed instantly, and I looked up to find Logan staring at me. I was distinctly aware of the fact that I was only in my underwear, and stared back at him. "I'm going to need some clothes." I stated obviously. He cleared his throat and nodded, looking away quickly. We stood in awkward silence before I began to walk cautiously down the rest of the hallway, sniffing the air, and he followed. We ended up in a round alcove, the walls glass showcases for a multitude of leather suits. I flexed my fingers experimentally as we looked around, and was happy to see my claws form at command. Walking over to a glass case, I stared at my scantly clad reflection in the glass and smirked vainly. I didn't look too bad. I turned away from the glass to see Logan reaching into a storage cupboard and pulling out two sweatshirts. He threw one to me and I hurriedly put it on.

The grey fabric fell just below my underwear and the neck was too big, showing off the edges of my bra. I peeked into the closet myself and saw that it was the best I was going to get, so I didn't complain. I continued to follow Logan down the maze of white sterile hallways before a door opened, revealing an elevator. We looked at each other before getting in, the doors closing behind us. a few seconds later I jumped as the hissing of the opening doors sliced through the air, and watched as Logan slowly creeped forward to look down the new hallway we had arrived in. I breathed in slowly, wondering why exactly the smell reminded me of my high school.

Once he deemed the coast clear he began to walk silently down the hall, with me following close behind. "where are you going?" A whisper drifted down the hall, and we quickly hid in a doorway. No one was coming down the hall, but as we resumed our silent escape, more voices whispered at our heels. " there they are!" " over here!" " they're down there!" We began frantically running, and I was surprised to see I could keep up with Logan's longer strides without breaking a sweat. As we entered a lavishly furnished room, a dozen footsteps descended a large staircase to our right. Logan quickly grabbed me and pulled me to him as he hid behind a pillar. We watched as a group of children ran laughing down the hallway, confusion evident on both our faces. Where were we? As the last of them disappeared around the corner, I thought about Rogue and where she might be. I hope she was okay. I was pulled out of my thoughts by a loud click, and Logan dragging me across the room to a door that had opened in the wall. I was glad to be out of the unnervingly open room. We backed through the door, looking for people who might have followed us, but froze as someone coughed.

We slowly turned around, and I felt like my head was going to explode as it heated from embarrassment. A classroom full of kids around my age sat staring at me, or more specifically my legs and chest. The girls all looked away after about ten seconds, but the boys kept staring. Logan wrapped a possessive arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, and the low growl and deadly glare he sent out made the boys turn away quickly. A bald man quietly dismissed the class as we watched warily, and as they got up to leave Logan nudged me behind him, hiding most of me from view when they all passed by us to get out of the class. I looked out from behind him as one of the girls went running towards the door, only to have my jaw drop as she phased right through it. Both Logan and I turned towards the bald man looking for an explanation. "Good morning Brooke and Logan, I'm professor Xavier, would you like some breakfast?" He said cheerfully, like a half dressed girl and wild looking boy didn't just interrupt his class. "Where are we?" growled Logan, and I watched as the professor rolled himself out from behind his desk. His wheelchair shined from the sunlight coming in from the windows, and he looked at us for a moment. " You are at Xavier's school for gifted youngsters in Westchester, New York. My people brought you here for medical attention." My head spun as I realized how far we had traveled unconscious. We were all the way in Alberta when the attack happened. " We don't require medical attention. " I stuttered out as I wondered what day it was. Xavier looked at me oddly, my answer clearly amusing him greatly. I wrinkled my nose as I thought about it. From what I had seen, neither Logan nor I could hold a bruise or laceration of any kind and broken bones only took moments to heal. I guess it was kind of weird. " No, apparently not. But the other girl did."

My blood ran cold. "Is she okay?" Asked Logan, his face worried. " Rogue is fine. She recovered quite nicely." Xavier answered, looking at us with a kind expression. I breathed a sigh of relief. Marie was fine, she hadn't received any lasting damage. I stiffened when the door behind me clicked as the knob turned, opening to allow the entrance of a vaguely familiar white haired woman and a man with red coloured sunglasses. "Logan, Brooke, I would like you to meet Ourora Monroe, otherwise known as Storm. And this is Scott Summers, also known as cyclops. they were the ones that brought you here." Xavier introduced, while I stared at them. Ourora was smiling kindly at me and Logan, while Scott was blatantly staring at me, looking me over. Logan tensed beside me, and glared at him. " And I believe you both have already met Dr. Jean Grey." The red headed woman from the lab walked through the door, her introduction startling Scott out of his observation of my bare legs. "You should be safe from Magneto while you stay here." said Professor Xavier.

I looked over at Logan, but he seemed as confused as I was. " what's a Magneto?" I asked. " He is a very powerful man, who believes a war is brewing between mutants and the rest of humanity," explained professor Xavier. " I've been following his movements for some time. The man that attacked you was an associate of his named Sabertooth." I snorted. Why did everyone have such ridiculous nick names? I turned to look at Ourora. " Storm?" She nodded hesitantly. Spinning back to look at Xavier, I repeated, " Sabertooth?" he looked at me silently. " and what do they call you? wheels!?" Logan snickered, and I turned to him. " this is ridiculous. Stupidest thing I've ever heard." I was ready to get away from the weirdos. With Logan, I was okay with the use of the nickname 'wolverine', seeing as he used it as his name when he fought, but these people really just went around calling each other things like storm and cyclops? I started for the door, but someone grabbed me by the middle, their hands tightening on my stomach as I struggled. They held me for a minute, and I instinctively growled at my captor, my fangs growing and I bared but them threateningly. I was suddenly ripped out of Scott's hands by a pissed off looking Logan. He pushed 'cyclops' into the wall and growled angrily, "You wanna never do that again?"

Everyone stared. I stood awkwardly, pulling down the hem of the shirt while Logan glared at Scott. I coughed a bit to get his attention, causing him to stop and look over at Xavier "She right. This is ridiculous. We're leaving." He pulled me by the hand towards my previous destination, but once again Scott stopped us from getting away. He stood silently in the doorway, ignoring our presence. " Get out of the way." Logan commanded, his anger rolling off him in waves. After no movement whatsoever from Scott, Logan grabbed him by the shirt and brought him closer. " I said, get out of the way." Scott leaned to the side and looked at the professor. " it's been two years hasn't it, Logan?" Logan froze at the professors words. "Living from day-to-day. Moving from place-to-place, not knowing who, or what, you are?" He turned to me." And Brooke, escaping bruised and battered from the place you once called home, and the people you once called parents. Not knowing anything about or how to control your mutation, only knowing what you had been taught, that it was bad and evil." I stood still. how did he know that? " shut up." I said, not wanting to think about my parents betrayal, or anything about that night. "Give me a chance, I might be able to find the both of you some answers." He looked at us imploringly. "How?" asked Logan, his dubious sounding voice tinted slightly with hope. Xavier looked at us, a smile spreading out on his face. _your not the only ones with gifts. _it was the same voice as the one in the hallway, and his lips hadn't moved. He had spoken directly into my head. I looked over at Logan, his expression just as curious as mine.

"What exactly is this place?"


	6. Chapter 6

X-Mansion

.

Our footsteps echoed through the quiet hallway as we walked towards the schools garden. The professor had gotten Jean to get me a pair of sweatpants, so I was much more comfortable, though I still had to occasionally pull up the neckline of the shirt. Charles rolled in front of Logan and I, leading us out through a side door and out onto a sun drenched gravel path. The sound of laughter bubbled through the air and got louder as we continued to follow the professor as he took us around the side of the school. A basket ball court came into view as we rounded a large bunch of bright yellow sunflowers. Logan and I stopped along the edge of the asphalt and watched stunned as a boy teleported his way around his opponents. Loud footsteps made us turn towards a long pool, and I was shocked to watch as two little kids raced each other, one running on top of the water, the other jumping from one rapidly growing plant to the next. I turned quickly towards the smiling professor. He chuckled and started to explain.

"Enmity Is a mutants first defence against the worlds hostility. To the public we are merely a school for gifted youngsters. Cyclops, Storm and Jean were some of my first students. I protected them, taught them how to control their powers and in time, teach others to do the same. Most of the students here are runaways, like you and Rogue. Frightened, alone, some with gifts so extreme they become a danger to themselves and those around them. Like Rogue, incapable of physical human contact, probably for the rest of her life. And yet here you are, with others your own age. Learning, being accepted, not feared"

We had walked back into the school as he talked, and were now stopped in front of a class room. Logan and I peeked into the room, and I smiled as I saw Rogue. She was talking to a boy while Storm was teaching at the front of the class. It was all very normal looking until he placed his hand on her desk and created an ice cube. Logan nudged me and I realized that the professor had already started to continue on with our tour, and as I walked after him I realized just how big this school really was. It was about ten times the size of my high school, and a lot fancier. As we took another elevator to the basement an odd whirring noise permeated the air. the doors to the elevator silently slid open, and we started forward. Logan froze suddenly as we turned a corner, causing my to bump into him. I looked around him and gasped. There was a giant black airplane just sitting there, which was random because we were in the basement. Logan and I turned simultaneously towards the professor.

"What happens after their education is up to the students, of course. Some rejoin the world as educated young men and women, or stay to teach others, to become, what the students have affectionately called, the X-Men" he gestured towards the plane. " this just one of the many perks of joining our little group."

"what exactly do the X-Men do?" I asked him.

"There are some mutants who say we are the better species, and that humans need to be put in their place. We are here to prevent that from happening, protecting both humans and mutants that are effected by their wrongdoings."

I looked at him unbelievingly. " So what, you're super heroes?" Logan snorted behind me. "If we join do we get secret code names too?" I laughed loudly. The professor ignored my sarcasm and looked at me thoughtfully. " I suppose, after both you and Logan complete your eduction." I looked over at the tall man beside me. " You're still in high school? " He looked at least two years older than me, but in the two days we had known each other, I had never asked his age. Logan looked at the professor for a moment before replying. " I can't remember."

Silence filled the room. The professor looked at Logan like he was a puzzle that needed to be solved, and I stared in shock as I realized something. When Charles had said all that stuff about not knowing who or what you are to Logan, I had just thought he meant mentally or spiritually or whatever, not _actually_ unable to remember who or what he is. Blinking out of my thoughts, I noticed the bemused look on Logan's face. I had been caught staring.

"Well," I said dully " I guess that means we're both staying here for senior year."

He didn't look too excited about that either.

* * *

.

Wow, sorry it took so long. This chapter was so boring to write that I kept redoing it to see if I could make it better, and nothing was really working, so I guess I'll just have to make up for it in the next one.


	7. Chapter 7

Nightmare

.

Next we were led to our rooms in the boarding wing. Logan was reluctantly shuffled away down boys hall by Jean, and I got to hesitantly knock on door number three in the girls hall by myself. I stood outside the door for a couple of minutes before the it swung open and I was tackled to the ground in a vicious hug. Rogue instantly got up and blushed, apologizing quickly for knocking me over, and I noticed she was in her pyjamas, but still had her black gloves on. I stood up and hugged her back, before teasing her about the boy from the classroom. "So, is IceBoy your new boyfriend?" she blushed a bright red before retorting, "Is Logan yours?" We stood in silence for about two minutes, looking at each other with suspicious glares. Logan was not my anything, but for some odd reason I trusted him more than I had ever trusted anyone. The sensible part of my brain reminded me we had only known each other for three days.

I quite obviously intimidated her with what must have been the most freaky glare ever, what with my eyes pulsing gold to blue, and she gave in first. "I won't say anything if you don't." she offered. I nodded in agreement and she led me inside the room. My eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness and I could clearly see all five bunk beds, every bunk filled except for two bottom ones that were side by side. A quick look around confirmed my budding fears. I seemed to be the oldest one in the room, with the youngest looking around six or seven. I turned towards Rogue as she took off her gloves and climbed into one of the two empty bottom bunks, waving me over to the one beside her. I stared at her as she settled down before I changed into a borrowed pair of pyjama tank and shorts, walked over to my bunk and slipped under the covers, hoping that the kid above me wouldn't wet the bed.

* * *

It had been three hours since I had laid down in the lumpy bottom bunk, according to the über bright blue alarm clock that used to rest on the night stand between Rogue and I's bunks. The unfortunate time keeper now lay smashed to pieces on the floor, due to my hand 'accidentally' crushing it. Sadly it hadn't relieved me of the constant blue glow, as every bunk had a nightstand with an alarm clock between it and its neighbour, and I couldn't just smash them all, could I.

3:27 burned into my retinas from the alarm clock across the room as I sat up quickly. My skin prickled uneasily as a noise floated from the closed door; someone was yelling, maybe having a bad dream. My ears twitched irritatedly, now I would never fall asleep. Rogue stirred on the bed beside me, mumbling as she rose groggily to a sitting position. "Lay back down Rogue, I'm sure it will stop in a while." I followed my own advice and pressed my face back into the musty smelling pillow. The creaking of bedsprings and the light almost non existent footsteps alerted me to Rogues disobedience. The door squealed and she was out. I sighed, I wasn't going to get any sleep was I. My bare feet touched the floor and were instantly frozen, the cold seeping up my legs and making me shiver. I would make her regret this.

I followed after her, my footsteps not making any noise. She turned down the hall towards the boys wing and the yelling got louder. I stopped as the sour scent that my instincts told me was fear started to concentrate the farther we went towards the end of the hall. Must be a crazy nightmare to make someone so terrified. Rogue was, of course, completely oblivious, and continued to tromp towards the door the frantic sound was coming from. I wrinkled my nose and hurried towards her as she began to turn the knob. The second the door clicked open I knew this was a bad idea. Logan's scent was everywhere, now mixed with the terror and anger coming from the twisted up sheets of the single bed in the room. "Rogue" my voice was dry, my instincts telling me to leave her and run, to do anything but go closer to the mass of primal terror that was cornered in his dream. He was dangerous. "Rogue!" she was too close to him, she was reaching out to him and calling his name to wake him up. "Logan.." His eyes shot open at her call, and he lurched up. The terror now came from all of us. "ROGUE!" I screamed as he lunged forward.

Everything happened quickly. My claws instinctively came out as I jumped between Rogue and Logan, and I felt them hit something soft before the thought flew out of my mind and was replaced with pain. My eyes blinked in horror as I took in what had happened. One set of Logan's claws were stuck in my side, and the other had barely missed my heart. A bubbling cry made me turn my head, and I wished I hadn't. I had grabbed rogue and pushed her behind me at the last second, but my claws had caught on her pyjama shirt, keeping her close. too close. Logan's long claws had gone right through my thin shoulder and into hers, creating a sick shish kabob. The other hands weapons had, as far as I could see, caused no damage to her.

Logans eyes widened as he realized what he had done. His face drained of blood, leaving him deathly pale as his mouth moved but no words came out. The pain was blinding as he withdrew all six blades, and my head spun. The holes in my stomach poured blood as my muscles tried to keep me standing, and the three in my shoulder did the same as my heart pounded. My legs gave out and Logan grabbed me as I fell, his arms bringing me closer and cradling me. "no." he whispered in disbelief. "no!" He looked around franticly, for what, I don't know. "somebody help! help!" I lifted my hand and put it on his arm. My wounds were already healing at a miraculous rate, the blood flow from my shoulder already stopped, and the blood from my stomach slowed. I sat up slowly in Logan' lap to look fearfully at Rogue, who didn't have my ability.

She stood like a ghost, staring at us with a blank look on her face as the blood flowed steadily out of her. I felt Logan tense as she took a step towards us, her bare hands reaching up. I gasped as I understood what she was going to do, but was too shocked to stop it. One of Rogue's hands rested on my shoulder, the other on Logan's face, and then I felt it, the re-tearing of my wounds and the steady descent into unconsciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

Tests

.

The first thing I became aware of was that someone was trying to wake me up. This and the fact that I was in the nicest bed I had ever slept in made me snuggle deeper under the covers and turn my face into my nice warm pillow. The hushed voice got louder, and I was awake enough to notice that the voice was not only saying my name, it also sounded like Logan's. That didn't make sense at all since Logan was over in the boys wing and I was sleeping on the surprisingly comfy bottom bunk of dorm room number three in the girls. Wasn't I? "Brooke." the voice was getting annoying. I groaned out a no, and my pillow rumbled out a laugh. It took a second for that to process.

My eyes shot open and I inhaled in the scent of whose chest I had been sleeping on. I slowly tilted my head up to look at Logan's tired face. Why was I... last nights attack came back to me as his face turned somber. "Where are we?" Was my first question. " One of the infirmary rooms." Second question. "Is Rogue okay?" I had already gotten a lesson on how her powers worked when I was assigned my room, as her powers were a hazard. "Yes, she's fine" Logan's face looked pained at the thought of how he was to blame for any harm she could have received. Part of me wanted to stop my inquisition and comfort him, but I pushed it away. He had almost killed us after all, and there was one more important question to ask. " Okay, that's great and all, but WHY AM I IN THE SAME BED AS YOU?" His answer to that was an amused chuckle and a shrug. He didn't seem to know or care. Logan put his arm over my side and pulled me closer to him in a hug. I was frozen as he nuzzled my hair and breathed in my scent. "I'm so glad you're okay" he murmured. I relaxed into his embrace, his heart beat thumping soothingly in my ear as my head rested against his chest.

My rational side was screaming at me; he had stuck his claws through me and now I was snuggling with him? No, it didn't really make sense at all but oddly enough I wasn't angry with him. The newer instinctual side of me completely understood and agreed with his actions.

Suddenly the door squealed open, and the professor rolled in. I felt my face turn beet red as he observed the scene in front of him. "Well Brooke, I see you've woken up." I wiggled myself out of Logan's arms to sit up on the bed. "The answer to your question of why we put you and Logan together in the same bed is that when Rogue temporarily absorbed your powers, you still had a large amount of damage. We noticed that when we took you away from Logan that the speed of your recovery dramatically decreased, so it was in your best interest to place you as close as possible." The professor smiled at me as I mulled that over. "Why would my proximity to Logan have anything to do with my recovery time?" Looking over at Logan I saw he was also sitting up, waiting for an answer. "That is why I am here now. I would like to run some tests, just to look further into both yours and Logan's mutations." I tensed as he finished. Run some tests? terrifyingly long needles and sharp scalpels filled my thoughts. The Professor hurried to correct me. "No! Not like that at all. We have a very comfortable lab downstairs. We would do nothing without your consent." I glared at him for reading my mind, but nodded in agreement. Logan did the same moments later. Why not? It would be nice to know I hadn't developed an extra heart or something because of my mutation.

I slid off the side of the bed and walked toward the professor, with Logan following close behind. The floor was cold on my bare feet as we walked our way towards the nearest elevator. You would think that since they took the liberty of changing my pyjamas they would have at least given me slippers. The elevator hissed to a stop and we exited, following the professor through the familiar white sterile halls until he stopped and placed his code into the keypad on one of the many identical doors. I cautiously walked in as Xavier rolled away towards the many machines, Logan following close behind. Two huge C.A.T scan machines were placed prominently in the middle of the room, with smaller medical instruments pressed up against the walls. In the time I had to think, I wondered where and how he got them. Jean was already waiting for Logan and I, and we were each ushered onto a hospital bed bed attached to the giant devices. "We will just be taking a few blood samples and a quick full body scan. Is that alright?" our confirmations were all she needed before multiple and needles where pricked into our arms and we were told to lay down. Once they were removed she turned back to the control pad and hit a large button. I looked over at Logan as we were quickly sucked into the machine and smiled at him, before I was shut in and there was no light and only a horribly annoying whir.

* * *

It seemed to go on forever, until suddenly I was jolted back out into the light. I sat up slid off the bed quickly, my back aching from staying still for so long. Logan seemed to have the same sentiment and joined me as I walked over to where the X-rays and blood test results where being printed. Everything looked normal to me, but Jean and Xavier were looking at them in curiosity. They both turned towards us and handed us each a folder of our gathered information, and the professor led Logan off so Jean could talk to me privately.

"So...?" I was getting impatient. Jean placed my full sized x-ray up on the wall and began to gesture towards various bones and muscle mass as she spouted off scientific vocabulary that I was completely unfamiliar with. she finished and looked towards me expectantly. "what?" I said stupidly. She huffed in annoyance. "Your muscles are different from the average humans. They are much stronger even though they look normal. Also, your enlarged incisors, your blood and immune system, your ears, your claws and-" she pulled out a small picture and brought it over. It was a picture of the inside of my eye, which was super gross and I don't know how they got it. "the reflective tissue in the back of your eyes suggests that your mutation is forming a closer relation to the feline anatomy than we previously predicted." I understood that. A cat? My mutation was giving me cat characteristics? Well, I mused, I could be worse.

It could have been a skunk.

"The physical tests are done, so now all we need is a mental ones and we're finished!"

Wait, what?

* * *

**Sorry it took so long!**


End file.
